And another chapter's here, I hope it finds you in a good health

This one is, a lot longer than the average, I can't tell if this is going to be the norm now, probably not though, but who knows

Anyway, Ratchet & Clank belong to Insomniac games, please enjoy

Chapter 18

Not even a day back in Polaris, and Ratchet has already found himself in a middle of a space battle

After the Referendum had ended in his favor, he decided not to wait for the Lombaxes to organize a strike force but go back immediately, meet with Talwyn and help her defend the galaxy until the heavy cavalry arrives. The council sent three Praetorian guards with him to assess the situation and establish official contact with the government of Polaris

Each of them was flying his own fully-armed starfighter, so they were five ships strong in total, and their commander gave them permission to destroy any hostile targets

They opened the portal in the deep space away from any populated planets, to avoiding attracting any unwanted attention, and simply fly to the Polaris capital on Igliak

Sound simple and easy right? But Ratchet has long since learned, that nothing's really easy when you're on a mission to save the universe, or at least parts of it

After about four hour of flight Aphelion notified him about ships her radar was picking up in the distance, they looked like cargo carriers with an escort. Other ships confirmed it and they all decided to just carry on with their mission and leave the carriers to theirs

And so the five Lombaxes, tiny robot and their sentient ships flew on

until they received a distress signal

The debate was short, they couldn't leave the carriers, and more importantly their crews to die alone in here, their ships made a hard turn and zoomed through space at full speed

After a short while they arrived at the scene of battle, or rather massacre, by the looks of it.

Blown up wrecks and pieces of PDF fighters were drifting aimlessly through the void and in the background four cargo carriers were getting devastated by a by a swarm of smaller units

Their thick hulls were holding on so far, but it was only matter of time before one of them finally gave in and something important was hit

Ratchet first thought that the hostiles were pirates or some other criminals, but now he could see that those ships were in fact Bogon military fighters. You didn't see those around often as Bogon authorities didn't spend much on arms in the past, clearly that has changed now

There was no more time to waste, Aphelion and her fellow ships descended on the Bogon fighters with all their might, their targets clearly weren't expecting this interference and soon the would-be hunters became prey

Ratchet noted that the pilots he was flying against turned out to be better than he expected them to be (they even hit him few times !) but still proved no match for the four lombaxes and their technologically superior ships

Soon the remains of their adversaries ships joined the wreckage floating around, and only a few of them remained, desperately trying to dodge incoming lasers

In that moment it appeared that the Lombaxes would come out victorious without a single casualty on their side...but certain someone had other plans

Just when one of Ratchet's allies was about to deliver final volley of lasers into his target's rear end, he found himself under attack by another spacecraft, Ratchet realized that when they were busy dealing with the Bogon ships, another five fighters crept up on them and have now joined the fight

''Sneaky bastards, must've been hiding somewhere all this time! But why didn't they attacked us earlier? ''

''Maybe they wanted to test their comrades and see if we were worth their time.''- one of his his fellow Lombaxes responded - ''Well I'm glad we didn't disappoint them but who are these guys anyway? ''

Those fighters design was certainly new to Ratchet he didn't think he had ever seen this type of ship before. They were longer than most space fighters, probably because of this powerful-looking engine at the end. It's fuselage was shaped like a narrow tube with a pointy nose at the front, actually it resembled a pen with wings, stabilizers and cockpit attached to it

Speaking of wings, they were two of them (obviously) and each one had two powerful guns attached at the end, and one missile launcher on the underside. A fearsome and versatile arsenal for sure, and it was currently trying to blow his tail off

The ships were also painted in some kind of black/grey camouflage, making them harder to see (and hit) in the blackness of space, it was probably one of the things that allowed them to stay undetected for such long time

Even though ratchet didn't recognise those ships design, he was fairly certain he knew, what creatures were flying them

And they were good at it too, Ratchet barely managed to dodge their missiles and lasers at the same time, more than a few have scratched the surface of his ship

Those ships still were less advanced than Lombax fighters, but their pilot's skills made up for that, the battle turned from extremely one-sided to pretty even in a matter of seconds

The battle dragged on, as Ratchet struggled to get a good shot at one of human craft's, it certainly wasn't easy, as everytime he managed to position himself behind one of his opponents, another one came to his rescue, forcing Ratchet to break off

Finally however he found himself in perfect position, pressed the trigger, and in front of him the hostile ship vanished in a fiery explosion, another explosion to the left told him one of his allies also got himself a kill

They didn't have time to celebrate though, as sudden scream followed by static came through radio, filling him with dread

Ratchet turned his head right and his fears were confirmed, sad remains of a Lombax ship were all that remained from one of his friends, further away in the distance one could see that one of the carriers has been struck by astray missile and was currently burning, it wasn't long before the flames inside reached the fuel tanks and yet another explosion could (not) be heard in the emptiness of space

Ratchet turned his attention back to his enemies, with newfound rage he prepared to unleash his fury on the closest enemy

It looked however that humans have had enough and started their retreat, unleashing what must've been all their missiles, forcing Lombaxes to dodge for their lives, and activating full power of their engines they soon disappeared into the blackness of space, the Bogon fighters have retreated earlier and the last ones on the battlefield were the Lombaxes and the three carriers they rescued

Ratchet's first thought was to chase the enemy, but Clank reminded him that it wasn't their priority right now and to check if any of the unfortunate cruiser's crew has survived explosion

Fortunately this turned out to be the case, as many of the personnel managed to escape the burning vessel via escape pods, Ratchet and his comrades helped them get to another carrier and then demanded answers

The still shaky crew members informed them that the war with Bogon/Solana began a while ago, and this little adventure they just had was but one of its many symptoms

Their story was a bit chaotic but from what Ratchet was able to make out, the situation was looking rather grim

The tensions between Polaris and human-controlled-space had been rising for quite some time, and when they were about to reach a boiling point PDF command decided to strengthen their garrisons on the planets closest to Solana, like Sargasso, to slow down or maybe even scare away potential aggressors

This move backfired on them however, when first the humans declared that this action was in fact POLARIS PREPARING TO STRIKE A FIRST BLOW, and this created a perfect excuse for them to gather their own forces at the border

And then, just a few days later, a small, insignificant planet in Solana was attacked and destroyed, supposedly by Polaris forces.

This was of course demented by PDF command, but the humans declared war anyway, to - ''Eliminate the threat posed by Polaris galaxy to the citizens of Solana and Bogon'' in their own words

From there things spiralled out of control pretty fast

For Polaris, that is

In the past, various police and military forces were, at best, little more than a cannon fodder for Heroes, almost never in the past did law enforcement units make any difference on the battlefield, in fact they were known more for running away from danger than towards it

This has changed in recent times, with extensive army reforms carried out by all three galaxies, both their military capabilities and their soldier's skills and morale have greatly increased

So both forces were pretty equal compared to each other and it showed, whenever their soldiers met on the battlefield both sides were having trouble to push each other out of their respective positions. Any battle they started would become stalemate, didn't have a clear victor or end in pyrrhic victory

Solana and bogon however, both had something Polaris did not, namely, humans

Originally high command wanted to use their human units as special forces, only for specific operations, as they were far less numerous than those of other species, but much more experienced and better equipped

However when they saw the snail-pace at which their offensive was moving, they decided to deploy some of them on the frontlines to speed things up. And speed up they did. Led by the human commanders and soldiers, the Solana/Bogon forces began to break stalemates and push their enemies further and further into Polaris. The alien's navy was managing well on it's own, but during space battles you would often see at least few human ships fighting alongside them anyway. Their offensive began to gain speed as planets fell before united forces of Solan, Bogon and human soldiers, propaganda minister made sure to exploit this image thoroughly

Now PDF got its act together again and slowed their enemies down once more, but many important planets remained under enemy occupation, saboteurs were wreaking havoc behind Polaris lines and groups of fighters and smaller battleships were attacking any transports they could find, trying to break their supply lines.

Things weren't looking good for Polaris, not one bit, if something weren't to change soon, their defense would surely break again in a few months (optimistic variant).

And then? They wouldn't have the strength to stop their enemies again, humans and their puppets would continue their victorious march until the last planet in Polaris would crumble before them, and the galaxy yet again would be enslaved by tyrants and usurpers

Ratchet was sure that Lombaxes were just what the PDF needed to turn the tide of this war, however it would be some time before they arrived, he in the meantime had to do anything in his power to prevent the fall of Polaris, so that there is something to save.

But in order to do that he, Clank and his fellow Lombaxes had to get to Talwyn first, luckily the carriers they saved had been heading to a Polaris planet, the defense of which the Markizian was coordinating

It was an strategically important point, if it were to fall into human's control, it would give them advantage over the PDF and access to resources and infrastructure. This could not be allowed, so the PDF command put Talwyn in charge of the Forces stationed there, she was to prepare the planet for an invasion, the coming of which has been reported by their spies.

The carriers were transporting more last-minute supplies for the defenders, when they were attacked by enemy squadron, yet more proof of the incoming attack. Now that they were safe, they could continue their mission, with the Lombaxes as their new escort.

The said Lombaxes debated on this for a moment, and decided on a following course of action, one of the remaining praetorian guards would go with Ratchet to help Talwyn organise defense, and one would head to Polaris capital alone, to make sure at least one of them fulfilled their mission

And so they put this plans into motion, one of the Lombaxes, Dewon was his name, collected their fallen comrade's dog tags, and speeded off in the Igliak's direction

The other one, Aaron, together with Ratchet and Clank followed the carriers to planet Rykan V

The transporters they agreed to protect were considerably slower than their fast ships, but they should arrive at their destination before the fight began, nevertheless, Ratchet prepared himself mentally for the long trip

Vladimir watched from a small watchtower, situated on one of the many islands dotting the surface of Pokitaru, below him on the ground, slademan reservists were exercising combat in tropical environment

The commander-in-chief of the human forces, and since recently of Solana and Bogon as well frowned, their overall performance was satisfactory, but the troops were still making little mistakes that could cost them their lives, and him his victory, if properly exploited by enemy

Beside him on the watchtower was standing, or more like trembling, was the said troops commander. Vlad voiced him his displeasure, and after being reassured that ''They would get better'', he began climbing back down

Of course, overseeing the military drills wasn't the only reason he was here, as important as they were, it was hardly something someone of his rank should occupy himself with, especially in times of war

No, there was indeed more reasons for his presence on Pokitaru, one of which was meeting with Jennefer S. their, intelligence chief, to discuss the… situation with one of their most skilled field operatives. He was supposed to meet her here, and was wondering when she'd show up. One of the more irritating things about her was that you could never find her, it was always she who found you, a little stereotypical, considering her line of work, but she liked it that way.

In fact, when Vlad got off the ladder and turned around, she was already there, waiting for him with her trademark sly smile. He was a bit startled by her sudden appearance, but didn't let it show. He was used to this by now

,,Hello sir, how do you like pokitaru, it has some beautiful landscapes wouldn't you agree ?''

,,The sights are incredible indeed, it's much too hot for my liking though, but let's get to business, did you find anything more about our missing man… what was his name ?''

,,Jerry sir, and yes we had much success in our search for him''

She then explained to him the details of their investigation of the whereabouts of their spy missing in action. Jerry McMask (although everyone doubted this was his real surname) had been chosen as the man best suited for a very dangerous mission. He was sent through a interdimensional wormhole into uncharted enemy territory, with a goal to secure and bring back any pieces of technology and information he could get his hands on

He succeeded in this task, but only partially, the only thing that came back through the portal was a briefcase, filled with random pieces of Lombax technology, but the man himself didn't make it

It was suspected that he had been taken prisoner, and was being interrogated, which was dangerous since he belonged to this type of people who knew too much to be simply left to himself when captured, or when their usefulness has ran out

Since the day he was captured, the heads of their science and intelligence divisions were working around the clock to find a way of reaching him.

Fortunately, thanks to data he provided, not only was their science team able to upgrade their dimensionator, but also managed to design some new advanced weapon prototypes

Sure, not every one of them turned out to be… practical, but one of the more successful ones was a model of reconnaissance/infiltration drone. A small, autonomous droid, that resembled a metal scorpion and was about as big as a small house cat.

Despite its modes size it was full of newest technology, it had a limited AI, so it could make decisions itself, it could walk on walls and ceilings, squeeze into every ventilation shaft there was, and perform many complicated task all on it's own. And even though robotic spies existed before, this one was truly a breakthrough

They sent a few such devices to the Lombax planet, gave them every piece of info on Lombaxes and their cities they had, and ordered to find their missing agent

,,So, how did our newest toys perform?''

,,Not bad, considering it was their first real mission, and they were completely dependent on their AI's for most of the time. Some of them were destroyed, others apparently… mistaken for a children's toys and confiscated, but a few managed to locate our missing man. He is being held in a high security prison, then we lost all but one remaining drones when they tried to get closer to him, that one left is currently sitting in a vent connected to Jerrys cell.''

,,Is that so? Good, very good. So, what are you planning to do next?''

,,That's why I wanted to speak to you way over here, in this remote location. I believe the best course of action for us would be to not to rescue the target, but rather dispose of him''

These words were spoken in a such blunt and emotionless way, that anyone would be horrified, how could anyone speak about murdering a man casually, one that has been loyally serving under your command for many years no less.

Anyone but colonel Vladimir Mer apparently, as his only reaction was a cocked eyebrow, and further inquire

,,Oh ? And what leads you to this conclusion ?''

,,I'll be frank, any other course of action would be too costly for us to take. If we simply leave him in the hands of our enemies, there is no doubt he will tell them something eventually, probably as soon as he realizes we abandoned him.''- she made a break there to check if Vlad was agreeing with her logic, and he confirmed it with a nod, so she carried on - ,,On the other hand, if we wanted to rescue him, it would require us to use men and resources that could be spent elsewhere, and that's assuming the rescue mission ends in success, and not in, let's say, more of our men captured. In any case I'd say one man isn't worth it, especially a mercenary whose contract ends in a few years.''

Her companion hummed in agreement, it was hard not to agree with Jen's arguments, and similar thoughts have crossed Vlad's mind even before this meeting. It was a shame though, the commander didn't really knew Jerry that well, but from what he heard, it seemed the mercenary spy was really good at what he was doing, which is why he has been recommended by Jennifer in the first place

But great endeavors often require sacrifices

Oh well

,,And how do you propose we… carry out this operation''

,,Oh that's easy, we'll just use the drone, and yes I know it wasn't really meant for assasination, but we could set it's mini reactor to overheat and explode, among other things, but I think this one's our best bet. In a small space that is his cell, even a small explosion will be enough to kill anyone inside.''

,,Won't this make Lombaxes even more aggravated toward us ?''

,,Possibly, but it's better than to let him babble our secrets out''

Yes well, but what if…'' - he narrowed his eyes - ,,What if he survives ?''

She just smiled at him - ,,That's unlikely''

,,You better make sure of it''

,,Certainly''

They chatted for a little longer, about some other wicked and inhuman plans and projects, but finally they parted ways, Jennefer, having received her surperior's approval, vanished into the shadows to seal Jerry's fate. Vladimir boarded his private transport, and told his driver to get him back to HQ, his short vacation in paradise was over, and he had a war to win

Jerry flopped onto his bed and gave out a tired grunt, last session with his interrogator has dragged on for so long that he resorted to counting hairs on the lombax's head to keep himself distracted, to the said lombax's great annoyance

Finally he was allowed to go back to his cell, to eat and sleep, before the next session begins.

If there will be next session, as his interrogator gave him a subtle suggestion that, since he wasn't going to give up any information on his own free will, his superiors might decide to subject him to the ''other methods'' of extracting information, and he wasn't sure if he could resist them.

Well, he would try, it's the least he can do, while awaiting some form of rescue mission, he had already examined every part of his cell, and there was absolutely no way for him to escape on his own. Coming to think of it, busting him out would be no easy task either… but he shouldn't give up hope…. yet

,,Ugh, where is that gaoler with my food ?'' - He wasn't allowed in the prison canteen - ,,I bet he's making me wait on purpose, that asshole… taking his sweet time, it ain't my fault it was so easy to steal your stuff''

He grumbled to himself a little longer, when suddenly he heard weird noises, coming from the ceiling's direction. He raised his head in surprise, all that was up there was a lamp and a small ventilation shaft, too small for anyone to crawl through. So what was that noise?

Maybe a small animal somehow got stuck in there… Oh! Or maybe something broke inside? He still couldn't fit inside, but if a little sharp piece of metal would fall down…

And indeed something was falling down, but it sounded larger than he assumed it would, cautiously, he took a step back from under the vent. And just in time, as a small, metal… something broke through the cover and fell down to the floor

After waiting a few seconds to make sure it wasn't moving, Jerry stepped closer to take a closer look

His face lit up in happiness, as he recognized the features of a MWF drone, he didn't recognize this model, but it was certainly man-made. So they didn't forget about him, this machine was clear proof of that, maybe he'll find tools, or weapons inside, or maybe it had a interdimensional communicator built in, or…

But why was it's corpus sparkling? And radiating so much heat that it's frame was starting to glow red and Jerry began to swat ?

Jerry really didn't like to feel sweaty, but to his dismay he started to perspire even more when he realized what was happening

,,The core's melting down!''

In a blink of an eye he was pounding at the door, screaming his lungs out, in vain attempt to get someone, anyone to open this blasted door, when his cries got no answer, he turned around, and with eyes wide open in terror looked at his doom laying on the floor

the device's exterior was already red as the surface of mars pre-colonization, and he knew it wouldn't be long before it blows and paint the walls even redder, in last desperate attempt, he heaved his mattress out of his bed frame, and positioned it between, him and the ticking bomb

The mattress was certainly heavy, and comfy, but would it really be enough to save him from tiny nuclear explosion about to occur? Unlikely

In his mind he made saw his life flash before his eyes, and also thought that it was very cliche. He took in a deep breath and shut his eyes, awaiting the inevitable

A few seconds passed in silence, and Jerry almost wished the darn thing to explode already and save him the dread of waiting, when he heard the doors opening behind him, he turned his head around to see the prison guard, holding a tray with his food, Jerry didn't think he would ever be so happy to see him

,,Alright outsider, here's your fooood…'' He stopped, clearly baffled to see his in such a strange position

,,Okay, what on my tail are you - he never got to finish his sentence, as a loud blast, followed by wall of fire ejected Jerry out of his cell straight at the guard, and bashed them both at a wall, squashing the spy and lombax between it and what remained of the mattress, before finally letting them fall to the ground

Jerry feet his head pounding, his vision going red, then slowly turning dark, he couldn't hear anything and was sure his eardrums had been pooped by the explosion, beside him he could see the guard, lying down, clutching his stomach in pain, he also though he saw silhouettes running towards them through corridor filled with smoke, but his body finally decided enough was enough, and for a second time this week, the darkness swallowed his mind

Ratchet was just about to lose yet another round of ''Planets and Provinces'' to Clank when Aphelion saved him from the humiliating defeat by announcing that their destination was within sight

Ratchet looked up, and sure enough, in the distance one could see the hot-red surface of Rykan V in the distance, the planet got bigger as they approached, and the young Lombax also noticed silhouettes of warships, hanging menacingly above the planet's surface

For a split seconds Ratchet was alarmed that the attack had already begun, but then recognized the distinct shapes and colors of the Polaris Space Navy, the warships were positioned above the spaceport and the lava refinery on the surface in a blockade formation, denying entrance to anyone who wasn't authorized to land

Fortunately the carrier's, and by extension the Lombaxes as well, were. And after a quick scans, all of them were let past the blockade and begun their descent towards the planet surface

Soon enough their ships had touched down, and Ratchet jumped out of Aphelion to stretch his legs and tail a little, he took in a deep breath and took a look around, yep this was Rykan alright, he couldn't say he missed the extremely hot pools of lava everywhere around him

The refinery and the spaceport were a lot quieter than he remembered, back in the day, his fight against Tahyon's forces wasn't enough to keep the facility from operating. Now though it seemed all the civilians have been evacuated, it almost seemed like different place without all the ships and trains driving by

But it wasn't entirely quiet either numerous military personnel could be seen around them, rushing to their tasks and posts, repeating strategy one last time and strengthening defences. Many fortifications have been erected all around the facility, heavy laser nests, towers, AA cannons aiming at the sky, you name it

Ratchet was a little surprised so much effort was put into protecting Rykan V, as it only housed the lava refinery, then again he was better at execution than planning, and said refinery did produce valuable material, used in weapon production no less, so he probably shouldn't be

After the carrier capitan introduced them to one of the officers, he and his crew thanked them one last time and went back to their ship, to unload the supplies, which this place would surely need in the hours to come

Ratchet and his companions meanwhile, were led through the refinery to finally meet up with Talwyn, who was coordinating the defense, after crossing countless metal corridors, they finally entered a staff meeting room, now repurposed for a HQ

Inside, Talwyn and some other PDF officers were standing above maps of the planet lying on the table, talking over last details of their defence plan. When Talwyn saw them enter, she quickly wrapped it up and motioned for her subordinates to get to their duties outside.

When they all left, she gave out a long sigh and wiped her brows - ,,Oh this is all so stressful, I had hoped I would never have to do this again''- The Markizian seemed to be tiring under the weight of her responsibilities, she quickly regained her composure hoever and walked over to two Lombax and the Robot

,,Ratchet! Clank! Oh you don't know how relieved I am to see you both here! ''

Ratchet returned her smile- ,,We're happy to see you too Talw-Ugh!''

He was interrupted by a ribs-crushing hug that he received from the taller female, she was clearly very happy to see them indeed. The hug hoever ended as suddenly as it started, as Talwyn released him and knelt down to greet Clank is similar manner, she then stepped back a bit, still smiling - ,,Heh, sorry about that, but I really am happy to see you guys, the last weeks had been so hard for us, I almost regretted sending you away to get help!'' - she turned to Aaron - ,,But I see it was worth it, at least I hope it was worth it, Mr ?''

,,Aaron Wrenor ma'am, and indeed our society decided it was time to return to our home dimension, and aid you in your fight against Solana and Bogon and their ne Overlords. I was sent here to reestablish contact before we can mobilize our forces in full''

Talwyn's smile got even wider, Ratchet didn't knew how her cheeks were managing it, and she outstretched he hand towards the brown Lombax - It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr Wrenor !''- The Lombax seemed almost a little sad he didn't get a hug as well, but nevertheless he gripped Talwyn's hand and shook it vigorously - ,,Please, just Aaron will suffice, hearing my surname makes me feel so old. ''

Talwyn was a little surprised at this, but she guessed Lombaxes were just naturally good at making new acquaintances, she then realized something and that made her smile drop a bit

,,Excuse me but... are you the only one who was sent ''

,,Oh no no, there were three of us, but we ran into a little trouble on our way to Igilak, afterwards me and Ratchet decided to escort a few carriers there, Dewon continued towards the capital and Kayne...didn't...make it'' - he finished with a sad face, Talwyn wanted to say something, but then he continued - ,,But he died bravely in battle, that's not a shame. Now we must make sure his death doesn't go to waste''

Ratchet agreed with him wholeheartedly, he may not have known Kayne for too long, but as was said before, Lombaxes were good at making acquaintances

Talwyn nodded - ,,So I guess you want to help us defend this planet in the incoming battle'' - all of them gave their confirmations - ,,Then I better get you up to speed on the situation''

They all gathered around the table with maps

,,As you both probably know, Rykan V is a planet of strategic importance, because it houses a lava refinery, it produces, well, refined lava, which is then shipped off world and used to produce advanced weapons and armor'' -She made a break to check if they were all following her, and then continued - ,,Taking it from us won't necessarily strengthen coalition that much, but it will severely weaken us instead, we cannot allow them to take Rykan's resources from us ''

She then pointed to map of the facility and surrounding areas

,,Usually, the planetary invasions favor the defender, as taking over an entire planet it, to put it mildly, a chore. This however is different.

Because there's pretty much only this facility here, it would be much easier to take over Rykan V than other planets, you'd only need to take over the Refinery and the spaceport, and then even if your fleet in orbit is pushed back, you can take shelter in the buildings. They are sturdy and we can't damage them anyway, so orbital bombardment is out of the question.

I know it seems like we're in a tight spot, and we are, but we also have a plan.

One of our fleets is waiting in orbit as I'm sure you saw, another one is stalling the enemy's approach and hopefully inflicting casualties, but most importantly another two are, en route, and will enter the fight once the enemy fleet is engaged in battle with ours, and their ground troops have already landed. If all goes well they'll fall into a trap, once enemy fleet is destroyed, or at least forced to retreat, we'll make their ground forces surrender or else we'll bomb them from orbit. Admiral Hywel will handle this task, our mission is to defend the facility until they are ready. If we succeed, we can take out a large portion of their forces and greatly slow down their offensive Got it ?''

All present nodded their heads

,,Two questions'' - Clank spoke up, Talwyn motioned for him to continue - ,,how were you able to prepare so thoroughly, did you know about the attack? And even if we win today, what stops our adversaries from attacking again in the future, this time better prepared? ''

A smile returned to Talwyn's face

Indeed we did, we were given a head's up from one of our sympathizers in solana and were able, seems not everyone over there is happy with current state of affairs, and some of them are high enough in the ranks to know about stuff like this. It gives me hope that we'll come out victorious yet.

As for your second question, if we win, it'll give us time to get some heavy orbital cannons and other equipment down here, turning this place into a true fortress, our enemies will think twice before they attempt a second attack. Now, here's what I'd like you to do during the battle''

The all returned their eyes back to maps, as Talwyn explained to them the details of her master plan

Ratchet leaped into the air, dodging another volley of rounds which passed harmlessly under him, while in the air, he threw a grenade in his enemies direction. Most of them were quick enough to jump out of the harm's way, but a few weren't so fortunate, and the force of explosion made them fall out of the little ground island, straight into the sea of lava surrounding it

The Lombax landed on his feet and examined his surroundings, those who survived his attack were looking quite determined to avenge their fallen comrades, he tightened his grip on his wrench

but he wasn't alone either, behind the Lombax, soldiers of the PDF scrambled to his aid, aiming their weapons at the attackers, Ratchet was really glad he didn't have to do this alone for once

And as they all jumped back at each other's throats, a part of Ratchet's mind wandered back to time when it was just him, Clank, Talwyn, and Zephyr and Cronk against Thyon's army, different time, same place

His knowledge of the area from back then surely helped him today, but he also wished he didn't have to come here and do this all over again

Before it all begun, Talwyn told them her plans for the two Lombaxes, she wanted them to act as a sort of rapid response unit. Rather than fight on the frontlines from the start, they would wait in the base, and enter the battle when and where it seemed that their lines might be broken. Lombaxes were known to be great warriors, so Talwyn hoped their help in those places would help turn the tide back in their favor

Both Ratchet and Aaron agreed to this plan, and she send them off to rest a bit, for as long as they had left

As it turned out, not too long

Just a few hours after their arrival, the enemy fleet appeared on their radars, mere 102 000 kilometers from the planet, and approaching fast

Sirens blared, the Soldiers rushed to their positions, the AA gun crews manned their stations

When the enemy fleet finally arrived above the planet, the space part of this battle began, as colorful explosions and lasers filled the night sky, blocking out the starlight

For a short while the defenders were free to observe the spectacle above, in another circumstances, on could even call the play of light beautiful, but everyone on the ground knew, each of these lights carried death

The strange peace was broken however, when a number of landing ships broke through the fire, and begun their descent on the facility

Their light AA guns shot down a few, but majority made it to the ground, they landed in some distance from the base, some to the north, some to the south and yet others to the east, clearly trying to surround them, Ratchet suspected they would send some to the west too, if there was something more than a sea of bubbling lava there

After that, things escalated quickly, and the defenders soon found themselves attacked from three sides at once, and scrambled to protect the planet from invaders

The regular soldiers managed to hold the attackers on their own for quite some time, it even looked as if they would be able to do this on their own

Ratchet was itching to get in there, help the defenders, but he promised Talwyn he would save himself for when his help would really be needed

He didn't need to wait for much longer, at some point their lines finally started to waver, he and Aaron gladly threw themselves into the fray

It was an interesting experience, to fight alongside another Lombax. But soon they got separated as Aaron had to go help their allies at another front

Ratchet went on without him, but certainly not alone. He and the PDF soldiers managed hold the line and finally push their enemies back

Finally it seemed it was about to be over, Ratchet got a message that allied fleets were closing in, and the enemy ships would soon be encircled as planned, then it would be a matter of time before their victory

Even their adversaries attack were beginning to weaken, Ratchet allowed himself to think that they could maybe defeat enemy ground troops on their own and not have to wait for the ships

But then he saw more carriers land on the other side of the facility

Soon he began to hear frantic shouts through the radio, requests for backup, screams of casualties, and cries that ''they'' have joined the fight

After making sure his position wouldn't fall without him there, Ratchet rushed through the base to where he saw the last craft land

As he got closer to his goal, he could see wounded soldiers, lying down on improvised beds, clutching their limbs or torso in pain, though there wasn't any open wounds still on them

,,Weird, the nanotech should heal them up already, is it malfunctioning ?'' - Ratchet thought to himself as he pressed on

As he got closer and closer, a strange barking sounds from the battlefield were getting louder and louder, different form the usual laser sound he has been hearing all night, yet he was sure he heard them somewhere before

When he finally arrived, the sight shocked him a little

Their defensive line was practically nonexistent at this point, sad remains of the defenders were desperately trying to put up a fight, but were hopelessly outmatched by their enemies, and speaking of them, Ratchet now understood what that one voice meant when it said ''they'' have joined the fight

Tall, lean figures, clad in their grey uniforms from head to toe, with their weird weapons and characteristics spiked helmets, the humans were indeed there, and were now picking the defenders out one by one, with merciless precision and professionalism

Ratchet knew they couldn't held out like this a minute longer, he rushed to aid his comrades. As he ran, he looked around to see if he could find Aaron anywhere

And found him he did

Lying down on the ground

in a pile of his own blood

That froze ratchet in his place

His mind was trying to process what he saw, that was a second Lombax, the second of his kin who had died since the start of this ''adventure'' of his. Kayne's death didn't have such an impact on him, but it was different seeing a spaceship blew up and seeing one's bloody corpse

And a thought crept into his mind - ''Was this my fault ? Because I wanted to get help, he was sent herewith me and now he's dead ? I s this what my actions will do to the Lombax race ? Everyone doomed all over again by actions of one Lombax?''

His eyes wandered to the human soldiers in the distance, they were closing in

Clank was trying to tell him something, but Ratchet didn't hear him, he was focused on the humans

,,No, no, it's all your fault''

He vision begun to turn red, as he clenched his hand tighter around his weapon and rushed forward

The next hours seemed to blur into one long fight, as he jumped, punched, shot and beat his enemies, his attack gave the PDF time to get their act in check again, and together, they all held their ground, though they never pushed them back either

This went on for what seemed to Ratchet like forever, finally he depleted all his ammo. But instead of retreating to resupply, he resorted to using only his wrench, he wasn't thinking straight at that moment

But it ended how it must have, at one point he didn't dodge in time, and felt his armor breaking and his something warm and sticky spill on his fur

Ratchet fell to the ground in pain, but could already feel the nanotech working it's magic. His wounds closing and the pain disappearing

He attempted to rose, but goi immediately shocked by another wave of intense pain, even though there was no wound anymore, he could still feel something deep inside his body, something small, but every time he tried to move it caused him pain

''We'll, it's over then'' - He thought to himself - ,,Must be some new kind of weapon. Even if it doesn't kill me, they're gonna just walk up to me like nothing and finish me off, I can't fight like this''

But thankfully the finishing blow never came, the sounds of battle around him were dying down, he could hear cheers through radio

''What happened ? did we win ? ''

Clank, still strapped to his back gave out a tired sigh

,,Yes Ratchet, the other fleets arrived some time ago, the space battle was won shortly after. After that we forced their ground troops to surrender. Are you okay ? Why are we lying down like that ?''

,,I think they hit me with some kind of new weapon'' - groaned the Lombax - ,,It actually hurt very much, say pal, could you perhaps go get me some help ?''

His voice was pained, and really made clank worry

,,On it''

with that, the robot detached himself from Ratchet's back and ran off to look for a closest medic

,,Thanks pal, I'm just gonna… lay down here for a while''

And after that, like a certain spy today before him, Ratchet's mind blacked out

So that's it, huh, I must say I shocked myself a bit with this how this one came out,

hope you liked it

Please leave a review if you can

Hang in there, stay safe and see you in the next chapter !